A PAIR OF CLOISONNÉ AND CHAMPLEVÉ ENAMEL CAPARISONED ELEPHANTS AND VASESMid Qing Dynasty Each cast standing foursquare the heads with almond eyes swaying slightly to the sides, the trunks curled between long tusks, the striated cream body caparisoned with a saddle rug decorated with ruyi -clouds supporting a baluster vase. Each 26cm (10 1/2in) high. (2). 清中期 掐絲及鏨胎琺瑯「太平有象」一對 Provenance : Sir Michael Oppenheimer (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020) and Lady Helen Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022), and thence by descent 來源 ：Michael Oppenheimer 爵士（三代從男爵，1924-2020年）與Helen Oppenheimer爵士夫人（1926-2022年）舊藏，並由後人保存迄今 The collection belonged to Sir Michael and Lady Oppenheimer DD (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020). Sir Michael's maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Grenville Harvey, 2nd Baronet (1856-1931) and Lady Emily Blanche Harvey (1872-1935) of Langley Park, Buckinghamshire. The Chinese art collection can be, at least in part, traced back to Langley Park, Buckinghamshire, home to the Harvey Baronets from 1788 until 1945, as demonstrated in a pre-1945 photograph showing Lot 122, the cloisonné enamel tripod 'elephant' incense burner, Qianlong. Sir Michael Oppenheimer's paternal family was the well-known South African mining family. The baronetcy was created in 1921 for Bernard Oppenheimer, Chairman of the South African Diamond Corporation for setting up diamond sorting factories to employ wounded ex-servicemen after the First World War. The family has been involved with De Beers over many decades. Lady Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022) was a distinguished moral and philosophical theologian, with a particular interest in the ethics pertaining to personal relations. Models of elephants were very popular in Imperial China and made from various media to adorn halls and throne rooms throughout the Imperial palaces. They are associated with strength, wisdom and long-life and are also significant animals within the Buddhist religion. A prominent member of the Buddhist pantheon, Samantabhadra (Puxian), is frequently shown seated on an elephant. They are considered guardians of honour and were symbols of peace and good harvests. The elephant in China is also one of the seven Buddhist Sacred Treasures and symbolises peace. Thebination of a vase ping 瓶), punning with 'peace' ping 平), and elephant xiang 象, homophone with the word for 'sign' or 'portent', forms a rebus for the phrase taiping youxiang (太平有象), meaning 'Where there is peace, there is a sign (or elephant)'. See a related example of a gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel elephant, 18th century, illustrated in the pendium Collection of the Palace Museum: Enamelled wares , Beijing, 2010, vol.4, pls.84 and 85. See also a pair of similar cloisonné elephants, 18th century, from the Shenyang Palace Museum, illustrated by R.L.Thorp, Son of Heaven: Imperial Arts of China , Seattle, 1988, p.97. The present pair is particularly sumptuous in utilising both cloisonné and champlev